The present invention relates to a connector for a flat cable, terminal fittings used in the connector for a flat cable, and a manufacturing method for such terminal fittings.
An electrical connector for a flat cable is described in JP-11-26103. In this example, ends of a flat cable are housed transversely in a housing, electric wires of the flat cable are distributed in a bent-over shape along upper and lower faces of an electric wire supporting member, and a pair of upper and lower arm members provided on terminal fittings fit with the bent-over distributed portions of the electric wires so as to resiliently grip these portions of the electric wires from above and below. By this means, the electric wires and the terminal fittings are attached with a specified attaching force.
In the conventional connector, the pair of arm members gripping the electric wire supporting member are aligned within the housing in the direction corresponding to the height of the housing. As a result, there is the problem that the housing is unnecessarily thick. Furthermore, the electric wires are bent over along the electric wire supporting member, the arm members scraping against these bent-over electric wires along their length-wise direction. Consequently, there is the danger that, if the electric wires are thin, they may break when a pulling force is exerted thereon.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a connector wherein the height of the housing is reduced, and wherein the electric wires will not break.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an elongate terminal fitting for an electrical connector, said fitting comprising at one end a tab for connection to a corresponding terminal fitting, and at the other end a pair of arms extending in the direction of elongation of the terminal fitting, the ends of said arms comprising wire connection members adapted to resiliently grip an electrical wire therebetween.
Preferably the free ends of said arms are substantially at a right angle to said direction of elongation, said arms gradually approaching one another from the root to the tip thereof.
Such an arrangement enable the height of a connector into which the terminals are installed to be especially low. A plurality of such terminals may be aligned transversely in order to permit connection to a flat electrical cable having a plurality of aligned electrical wires. Since insertion of the wires can be at right angle, no pulling force is exerted on the wires during the wire insertion step, and the risk of breakage is thereby eliminated.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a terminal fitting of the kind mentioned above, the method comprising forming a blank having a pair of arms extending in the direction of elongation, bending a first arm towards said second arm beyond the limit of resilience to permanently deform said first arm, bending said first arm away from said second arm within the limit of resilience and simultaneously bending said second arm towards said first arm beyond the limit of resilience, such that the tips of said arms touch when released.
This method avoids simultaneous bending of the arms, and consequently the ends of the arms can be made to resiliently contact each other.